Shadows
by Demon Llama Nerd
Summary: Reboot of "Soulbound". The Lost Ones have been resurrected and some new faces have joined the clan. Life should be perfect for the Library Punks now. But when a mysterious stitchpunk threatens to destroy everything they love, they're forced to make impossible choices. But just who is this strange person and why is she doing this to them?
1. Chapter 1

Hi, everyone. If you're wondering why I haven't updated "Soulbound-The Remake" in a while, it's because I've grown bored with the whole series (meaning "Soulbound" and its remake and sequel).

**Thus, I've taken it all down, applied a fresh coat of paint and started a reboot series. Some characters are still here and some aren't, very few plot elements are the same as before and it's all written in third-person.**

**I hope you all like this story. And sorry to those of you who were enjoying "Soulbound-The Remake".**

Shadows

_**Chapter 1**_

9 lay facing the ceiling on his bed, occasionally shooting glances at 7 as she removed and hung up her feather cape. The only sounds either could hear was their own hushed breathing and the odd splutter from the candle.

"Well," 7 said with a smile, "we've had quite the week, haven't we?" 9 chuckled.

"That's an understatement," he said. "I still can't believe there was a way to bring the others back this whole time, though. I really wish I'd known about it earlier." 7 shrugged and lay down on her side of the bed.

"It probably would've been the exact same result, anyway. And if so, at least we still would've gotten the others back."

As soon as 9 had found out how the talisman could recall lost souls from…wherever they went, he had packed his tools and told his wife and children he was going on a trip for a few days. He'd felt a little bad about lying to them, but he'd wanted to surprise them at the same time.

It had now been a week since the morning of the fifth day of his "trip" when he and the others had arrived back at the library. And it was rather comforting to know that they all had a chance at a full life now that the machines were no longer a problem.

"I hear 5 and 2 are considering taking on 16 as an apprentice," said 9, carefully wriggling under the bedcovers. "I guess she must've let 2 have a peek inside her workshop."

16 was 7 and 9's daughter. Born several months after her parents were married, her mental age was now about fourteen or fifteen. And while she liked being around her parents and adopted siblings, she usually spent most of her time working on her hobby of building model animals.

"Speaking of the kids," 7 replied, "4's been spending quite a bit of time around 6. Then again, she and her brother were always curious about his artwork. So maybe I'm reading too much into it."

"Or maybe, just maybe, you're spot on. Either way, as long as they're both happy, that's good enough for me. Now, if there was only something we could do about…" 7 laughed quietly at him as he trailed off.

"Don't worry about it," she said as she slipped under the covers next to him. "8 was never exactly the most sociable person in the world while we were living at the cathedral either. Just give him his space and then, right when you least expect it, he'll try to strike up a conversation. Trust me; I've seen him do exactly that."

9 smiled at her as she inched closer and the edge of her right optic brushed against his left cheek. He closed the microscopic distance between them, kissed her and touched her face once he pulled away.

"Night, Sev," he whispered.

"Goodnight, 9," replied his wife.

And with that, 9 blew out the candle and the room grew dark.

**~Shadows~**

Meanwhile, in the middle of the moonlit city, three female stitchpunks climbed up on top of a pile of rubble. The tallest scanned the horizon until she finally made out the shape of the library and pointed at it.

"Is that it?" she asked the shorter of her two companions. The smaller female nodded and leaned in close to her sister.

_Yes. That's exactly it_, she flickered. _But we've been walking all day, so I suggest we camp here for the night. If we get moving again after we wake up, we should be there by tomorrow afternoon at the very latest._

The tallest female blinked to get used to the sudden change in brightness and smiled at her sister. Then, she turned to the third female.

"We'll sleep here tonight," she said in a voice that was gentle and firm at the same time. "You've waited this long. I don't think it'll kill you to wait just a little bit longer." The third female bowed her head slightly and stared in the direction of the library.

"Just a little longer…" she repeated.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, guys. If you're reading this, I guess it means you don't hate me for giving up on "Soulbound-The Remake" (again, sorry if you were enjoying it).

Anyway, before we get started, I think I should tell you that some voice actors have been changed;

The older 15 is now voiced by Janet Varney, 16 is now voiced by Mae Whitman, our villain (when she pops up) will be voiced by Grey DeLisle and Iris and Gertrude from "The Tribe" are now voiced by Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Thompson, respectively.

OK, enough talk. Hope you enjoy this chapter (and that it doesn't ramble too much)!

_Chapter 2_

It was nearly midday when 7 walked out and stood on the top step. She'd been awake for approximately three hours now. When was the last time she'd got out of bed at the crack of dawn, if not before? The person she'd been before 9 came along never would've slept in as late as she usually did these days.

Even now, 7 could barely believed how much she'd changed since she met 9. There had been little need to practice her moves after the Machine was destroyed, so she'd started looking for something else to do with her time. And surprisingly, she'd soon found herself spending more and more of that time with 9. Then, two years after the others died, they got married, she got pregnant about a month later and the rest was pretty much history.

The sound of footsteps on the paving stones distracted 7 from her train of thought. She looked down towards the gate to see the indistinguishable shapes of three stitchpunks.

"Good day to you, madam," the tallest shape called up to her. 7 hopped down the steps and met the three strangers in front of one of the statues lining the courtyard.

The tallest was white all over with a red waistband and scarf and small ropes tied over the seams on her shoulders.

The next stranger had grey skin and her pixie-short hair was an even-darker shade of said colour. She also wore a red scarf and had a line of stitches running up from the left side of her mouth to just underneath her eye. She was dragging a cloth bag behind her.

And the smallest had a grey face, shoulder-length blonde hair, black limbs with white seams, a light-blue torso and a black cape. She smiled at 7 in an attempt to make friends.

"So," 7 began, "who might you be?" The tallest-who seemed to be the leader-stepped forward.

"My sister, my niece and I have been living in the city centre," she said. "We heard there was another clan somewhere around here and thought it might be nice to introduce ourselves."

"OK, then," said 7. "What's your name?"

"I go by 'One-oh-one'," the other woman said. "And that's 10 and that's 15." She pointed to the short girl and then the scarred girl.

"Hi," said 15. 7 returned the greeting and looked at 10 who, though she was still smiling, said nothing.

At first, 7 thought she was either shy or a woman of few words. But then, she noticed something in 10's eyes; small traces of a sort of hopeless longing that she'd seen before in her adopted children's eyes. And that was when she realised that 10 was mute.

"Nice to meet all of you," she said at last, turning her attention back to 101. "I'm 7. My husband is pretty much the one who runs the show around here. I'm guessing he's the one you're looking to see?" 101 nodded. "OK, then. I'll take you to him."

~Shadows~

Meanwhile, 9 and some of the others were congregated on the side of the pool opposite the grating that led to the sewers. 16 was looking over the blueprints she'd drawn for her latest model with 5 and 2. The twins were playing a game of Snap, using their lights as a signal for when one of them found a matching pair of cards. 6 was showing 9 a drawing that he'd copied from a book.

And 1 was quietly observing the whole scene from a corner. He wasn't exactly sure why he hadn't just stayed in his room like 8 almost always did. Maybe it was just because he didn't feel as comfortable being alone with his thoughts as he used to. Or maybe he just liked the idea of company, even if he didn't say much. Both seemed equally possible.

Suddenly, 7 and three other women came round the corner. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up.

"9," 7 said to her husband, "I found these people outside and thought you might like to see them." Immediately, 9 stood up and shook hands with the tallest of the three females. As 1 watched him do it, something 14 had once told him popped into his head;

"_I don't know much about my creator; just that I was the second-to-last one he made. I never met or even saw any of my 'siblings', but I'm hoping to go out and find them all once the Beast is no longer a problem."_

14…she'd been his fiancée before she disappeared one day during a scouting trip. When was the last time he'd thought about her? And why had these newcomers suddenly reminded him of the time she told him about her "siblings"? Were these people the ones she'd been talking about? Did they even know she existed?

9 and the tall woman carried on talking. 1 suddenly noticed one of the other two females staring at him. Though her face was relatively blank, her eyes were wide. And those belt fastenings on her front looked horribly familiar…

No! It _had _to be a coincidence. As far as he knew, the man who had created 14 had been friends with the Scientist. Who was to say that he hadn't been a copycat, too? It just couldn't be possible that this girl was-

"1, snap out of it." 7 gave him a pinch on the inside of his left arm. He hadn't even noticed her come over.

Everyone was looking at him now, including 9 and the other two women. The girl with the belts started rocking back and forth on her heels in an unconvincing attempt to act natural. 1 gave 7 an annoyed glare and stood up, rubbing the spot where she'd pinched him.

"Sorry about that," he said flatly. "I was just…daydreaming." He started heading in the direction of the globe without another word, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.

_Well, that was embarrassing_, he thought to himself. _Though I suppose it was technically my own fault. Still, that girl…just who is she?_

~Shadows~

101 stared after the old man. Even if 7 hadn't said his name, she knew she would've been able to tell who he was just by looking at the belts on his front. There was only one person he could be if he had fastenings like those.

"Anyway, as I was saying, it would probably be a good idea to talk some more in private. What do you think?" 9's voiced snapped her attention back to him.

"Yes," she said, nodding. "Yes, I think that's a great idea." She glanced behind her at 10 and 15. "You'll probably need to find someone to keep these two occupied, though."

"I can do that," said a pretty young brunette as she approached them. "I'll show them my workshop."

"Does that work for you guys?" 9 asked. 15 raised and lowered one shoulder and 10 smiled, so 101 gave him a nod. "OK. Let's go, then."

But before any of them could move, a deep, gruff voice spoke up;

"Hey. What's with all the ruckus?"

A tall, broad-shouldered stitchpunk came and stood at the top of the tiny slope that led down to where the others were sitting. 10 hid behind her sister and niece. The bigger rag doll noticed this and rolled his eyes.

"Hello, 8," said the brunette. "Mom found these three outside. I think they might be staying here for a while."

"Oh," he replied. He looked past her at the newcomers. "Hey, there." Out of the corner of her eye, 101 saw 15 cautiously raise and lower a hand.

She didn't know what to make of that. Sure, just looking at this guy told her that he was the kind of person you might want to watch your step around. But she'd learned the hard way that judging something by looks alone was rarely a good idea. So, she tried smiling at him just to see what would happen.

The bigger stitchpunk didn't react at all.

"Come on, 101," 9 said to her. "This way." 101 walked with her head down as 9 led her in the opposite direction to 10, 15 and the brunette. The big guy didn't even give the two of them a sideways glance as they passed him.

_Fine, then_, 101 thought towards him. _I have more important things to worry about than the likes of you, anyway._


	3. Chapter 3

**I think I'm starting to get into writing this story. In fact, if it wasn't for school (and my 3DS/short attention span), I'd definitely update a lot more.**

**Anyway, this is the part where we get some backstory on the Veteran Punks (101 and her posse), as well as that 14 person who was mentioned several times in the last chapter. We also get our first glimpse of our villain *wink*.**

**P.S. The stitchpunks actually know what they are in this story (by that, I mean rag dolls/homunculi).**

**P. P. S. I decided to call 101's clan (or whatever's left of it) the Veteran Punks because of how much the War of the Machines affected its members.**

Chapter 3

"Right then, 101," 9 said as they both sat down. "You can start whenever you're ready." 7 came in and sat down on the foot of the bed. 101 took a deep breath.

"My creator and your creator were colleagues in the field of science before the War began," she said. "When your creator began making your clan, his old friend offered to help by making some rag dolls of his own. But while your creator made nine, he only made six and then stopped. I was his final creation…after 14."

"14?" 7 interjected. "She had the same creator as you?" 101 looked at her. "I mean, I knew she wasn't made by the Scientist but…"

"Yes. 14 was my 'sister', but I never met her during the War and it seems none of the others did either."

"The others?" asked 9. 101 nodded.

"I did say my creator made six of us, didn't I? Along with 10, 14 and me, there was also 11, 12 and 13. But they all died during the War. And after that, 10 and I began living in a clinic in the town centre.

"Eventually, we found our lost sister being chased by the 'Beast', as she called it. We took her in and she told us how she had found shelter with your clan at a cathedral in the area. She was planning to go back after a few days until…before she…she found out she was pregnant."

9 stared at her and 7 looked surprised (though not much). 101 sat in silence, avoiding the eyes of both of them. This was precisely why she'd wanted to wait until 15 was mature enough to introduce her to her father's clan. She'd always known there would be stares and whispers and the like, none of which she'd wanted a child to be exposed to.

"14 got attacked by the Beast near the end of her pregnancy," she went on gravely. "She died shortly after 15 was born. I'm terribly sorry you had to find out this way." 7 bowed her head and covered her eyes with a hand.

"I…I guess I sort of knew…" she stammered. "I mean, we all thought 14 had just gotten lost and she'd be back in a few days. ." She paused and took a breath. "I guess she really _was_ dead this whole time."

"I'm sorry," 101 replied. 9 got up and put a hand on his wife's shoulder. 7 let her arm drop to her side and looked at 101.

"Do you have anything you want to add to that?" she asked. 101 nodded.

"After we buried our sister, 10 and I raised 15 and told her about this clan once she was old enough. I knew she would want to meet you all eventually and she needed to know how to take care of herself in the Emptiness.

"I taught her how to fight and soon after she reached adolescence, 15 decided to set off for the cathedral on her own. But on the way there, the Beast attacked her and scratched her face. That's where that scar of hers came from. 15 tried to escape but she hit her head and knocked herself unconscious before I could get to her.

"15 was out for three whole days after that. And during that time, I noticed a lot of strange kerfuffle in the Emptiness; explosions, green lights, the cathedral on fire. 10 told me that a 'great evil' had been awakened and was hunting this clan. And when 15 woke up, we had to tell her that half your numbers were dead, including her father. The poor kid was never the same.

"And just a few days ago, 10 started having visions about the dead members of your clan coming back to life. So the three of us set off for the library she'd seen in said visions and…now we're here."

An uncomfortable sort of silence prevailed in the room for a few moments until 9 finally spoke again.

"You said 10 had visions about our clan. Does that mean that she's-"

"A seer?" 101 interjected. "Yes. But please; tell only who you must. She's always been rather private about it."

"OK, then," 9 replied. "Now, since you're going to be staying here for a while, why don't you go get 10 and 15 and you can each pick out a room? I'll wait for you in the globe."

"The globe?"

"Yeah. It's where most of the others sleep. You'll know it when you see it. 10 and 15 will probably be in 16's workshop right now. It's in the bottom of one of the bookshelves, so you should be able to find it OK."

"Thank you," said 101, standing up and bowing slightly. She headed for the door but stopped and looked over her shoulder as she opened it. "And about 15…do you mind keeping quiet about her story, too? Just for now?"

7 and 9 both nodded and smiled at her in response. And 101 left them with a grateful smile of her own.

**~Shadows~**

Meanwhile, out in the Emptiness, a tall female stitchpunk was following the footprints left behind by 101's small party. She was a little annoyed at herself for oversleeping, but she supposed it didn't matter. She kind of needed to let the ones she'd been tracking get ahead of her, anyway.

Eventually, the footprints led her to the start of the courtyard of a library. She'd been keeping tabs on the homunculi that lived here a lot more than usual since the Maker's strength had begun to fail. It wouldn't be long now before it would need to replenish the soul energy that had sustained it for the past few years.

And now, both groups of homunculi living in the city were together in one place. That would only make the job a lot easier once she got started on it.

The stitchpunk's bright red eyes focused on a shape in a window. Was that person able to see her face? There was a good distance between the two of them and the wind was blowing her pale-gold hair this way and that, so she seriously doubted it.

"Enjoy this day while you can, my friend," she said with a small smile. "You won't get another one like it for a long time."


End file.
